On Borrowed Time
by future consequences
Summary: Someone kidnaps Olivia from a subway. The SVU team has 24 hours to bring her back alive. Elliot discovers unknown feelings. EO eventually.
1. Prologue

**On Borrowed Time**

**Prologue**

**A/N: I haven't written anything in a while, so please be nice to this fic. Eache chapter will be one hour. There will also be an epilogue. Please review the story. I don't own Law and Order SVU...**

It was nearly midnight, and Olivia Benson was tired. She had been at work much longer than she had anticipated. The case that she and her partner Elliot Stabler had been working on that day had really taken its toll on her. She had seen some pretty horrific things on her job as an SVU detective, but today's case was among the worst. Some sick bastard had been kidnapping young girls and chopping them up into little pieces. Over sixteen hours at work, and they had no leads.

Olivia shook her head, trying to push the horrors of the job from her mind. Work had to be left at work, or she would never keep her sanity. She nervously walked the few feet from the police precinct to the entrance of the subway station. Olivia knew she was just being paranoid, and that if anything were to happen she could take care of herself. That didn't stop her from being a bit jumpy when she was alone in the city late at night.

She walked down the stairs to the subway station. It was a bit of a relief to be in the brightly lit station. The station was nearly empty, with the odd person passing by every now and then. This was both frightening and oddly comforting. It didn't take Olivia long to get to her train. She didn't have to go far. Only four stops and she would be home. The 11:50 p.m. train arrived exactly on time, and Olivia got in.

There was only one other passenger in the car. An elderly woman sat near the back of the train, reading a book. Olivia settled down in one of the plastic seats. She tried her best not to think of today's case. She was only vaguely aware of the subway stopping. A man in his late twenties entered the subway and stood right next to the door. He was dressed in all black, and his hood was obscuring most of his face.

There was something, other than the way that he was dressed, that just didn't feel right to her. It made the hairs on the back of her head stand up. Her fingers gripped her on duty handgun still in the inner pocket of her jacket. It wasn't as if she was scared. It was just in case and that was all. She tried to ignore the man, but her gaze kept returning to him. Her instincts were telling her that there was something off about him. Olivia always trusted her instincts.

The subway arrived at another stop, and she watched the man out of the corner of her eyes. The old woman stayed where she was, flipping through her book. She felt threatened by him, and she wasn't letting him out of her sight. He hadn't done anything, per se, but it was just the way he held himself. His eyes were sweeping the car. He looked nervous.

She was on edge as the man moved towards her. He moved ever so slowly. If she hadn't been watching him, she wouldn't have noticed him approaching. She froze, and reached for her gun. She had no time to pull it, for the man was directly in front of her in what seemed like seconds.

It all happened so fast that she had no time to react. As if on cue, the train jerked, knocking her from her seat. That's when the man made his move. He was behind her in a flash. He pulled out a damp rag from his black jacket. She recognized the sickly sweet smell; chloroform. Olivia tried to maneuver herself out of the man's grip.

She broke free for a moment, but the man was too quick for her. He had reached her in almost seconds. He attempted to move the cloth closer to her mouth and nose. She already felt a bit light headed from the fumes. The old lady was still in her seat. It looked as if she was frozen in shock. After a few moments, the man put the chloroform soaked cloth over her mouth and nose.

She instantly felt the dizziness and nausea. She tried to fight back, but her limbs felt weak and heavy. The blackness gathering at the edges of her brain was threatening to engulf her. Olivia looked at the other occupant of the car desperately. The elderly woman offered her no help. She was falling; falling through the darkness.

The man caught her. Olivia had no strength left in her. Fighting seemed next to impossible. Never, in her many years on the job, had she thought that something like this would happen to her. If it did, somehow she thought she would fight back more. Before this moment, she had a feeling of some sort of invincibility. It was as if she thought herself better than other women. Now she knew she was just as vulnerable as everyone else.

It could have just been her delirious state, but she could swear that this man was strangely familiar. Just as she was on the brink of unconsciousness, she heard a deep menacing voice speak. "You're on borrowed time detective Benson", said the voice. She struggled desperately for a final time, until she neither saw nor heard anymore. Everything went black.


	2. Hour 1: The Call

**Hour 1: The Call **

**A/N: So many reviews! You guys must really like me! I have this all planed out…so I know what's going to happen. I'll update as soon as I can. Sorry for leaving a cliffhanger, but it will be resolved by the end of next chapter. Enjoy the chapter and review! If you have a specific comment/question, I will reply. **

**12:00 a.m.**

Elliot had just arrived at his apartment. It was about midnight, and he was just arriving. There was no one there to great him. He lived alone now, ever since he and Kathy divorced. It had been more convenient for work in many ways, but there were things he missed. He missed his wife yelling at him for his lateness. He missed his children rushing to greet him. It was the strangest things that he missed.

Today had been a trying day. They had been so close to catching a particularly vicious perp. He had slipped through their fingers once again. Elliot was so stressed. With all of the thoughts running through his head, some of them more disturbing then others, he would be surprised if he could sleep. He used to talk to Kathy about this sort of thing. Vaguely he thought about calling Olivia.

Immediately he dismissed that idea. She wouldn't be awake now. Even if she was, she wouldn't want to talk to him. There was no point in disturbing her at this hour. Just thinking about Olivia made his stomach do flip flops. He had developed a very close relationship with his partner. She knew her better than she knew herself, and vice versa. They were like brother and sister. He knew he was kidding himself if he ever thought it could be anything more.

The shrill ringing of his phone threw him out of his reverie. Who would be calling at this hour? His mind immediately settled on Olivia. She was the only person he could think of. Without hesitation, he picked up the receiver. "Stabler", he said. That was how he always answered the phone.

"Elliot Stabler", said the voice of a man he didn't recognize.

"Who is this?" he asked sharply. Heavy breathing was his reply. "Who the hell is this?" he repeated angrily.

The deep voice replied, "I have Detective Benson. In twenty four hours, I will kill her." Elliot heard the faint click. Then the phone went dead. The words made his blood run cold. Unwillingly he found himself visualizing the thousands of things that man could be doing to her. He shuddered violently.

He did his best to pull himself together. He had to stay home, for Olivia's sake. He sat down on the couch trying to gather his thoughts. The first thing he needed to do was called commander Cragen. They had to start looking for her right away. He felt a strange tightness in his chest. Twenty four hours was not a lot of time.

Elliot picked up the receiver with trembling hands. His life had been on the line many times in his job, and he had never felt truly afraid. He was afraid now. He was afraid of what he might do if he never saw Olivia again.

Slowly he dialed the number. By the time the phone rang three times, he though he might go insane with worry. The captain answered on the fourth ring. "Cragen", said the captain. Elliot wasn't very surprised that his superior was at the station this late. He opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't find the words to articulate what he had just heard.

"Who is it?" Cragen asked sharply.

"Captain", Elliot whispered. The Captain's voice lost it's harsh tone instantly.

"Elliot?" Cragen asked, his voice filled with concern. "What's wrong?"

"Olivia's been kidnapped", he managed to choke out. He couldn't take it anymore. He hung up the phone.

It took Elliot much less time than usual to get to the precinct. He sped down the nearly deserted street, not caring about how many red lights he ran. Time was fleeting. The more time he wasted, the more time horrible things could be done to Olivia. If she died –he didn't even want to think about it. He burst through the squad room door ten minutes after leaving his home. The SVU squad room was already a bustle of activity.

He spotted Donald Cragen almost immediately. His superior was on the phone looking agitated. When the captain saw him, he ended his call immediately. "Tell me everything that happened. How do you know that she's missing?" he asked serious. The Captain was much more nervous than Elliot had ever seen him.

Elliot sat down, and slowly began to tell Cragen what had happened from when he had gotten home, until he had arrived at the precinct. "I was worried about her. She was taking the subway alone. Right after I got home, I got a call."

Elliot found that he wasn't able to continue. The words kept replaying themselves in his head. They had her, and they would kill her. He would do whatever was necessary to stop that from happening. He had gone over the short call what seemed like hundreds of times in his mind. The voice was so familiar. If he really thought of it, there could be any of a thousand people who could have made that call.

"Someone has her. They're giving us 24 hours to find her. If we don't find her in time, they'll kill her", said Elliot glumly. Elliot couldn't continue. He didn't have any more to say anyways. A solitary hot wet tear fell from his eye, and rolled down his cheek. The emotions for Olivia he had hidden for so long came surging to the surface. Elliot truly cared about his partner, and he would do anything to bring her back.

Cragen was barking orders to the rest of the team. He told some uniforms to go canvas Olivia's apartment building. He told others to go through her old case files. They were to try to find anybody who was recently released from prison and might hold a grudge. Elliot knew they could find dozens of people who fit those criteria.

Cragen quickly filled Munch and Fin in on the situation. Both Elliot's co-workers were extremely concerned. They were anxious to get out there and start searching. Fin wanted to know who he would have to beat to find Olivia. Instead of being reprehensive of his partner's desire for violence Munch looked prepared to join him. Finally, they agreed to go down to the subway station and interview possible witnesses. They were gone in an instant.

Elliot heard very little of this. Since he had told the Captain his story, he had stopped listening. It wasn't that he didn't want to find Olivia. Quite the contrary that was what he wanted more than anything. He had been going over the call mentally. Elliot knew he had heard the voice before, and he needed to figure out who it was. It had to be someone he hadn't seen for several years, or he would have known the voice instantly.

In his mind, he heard the call over and over. The deep voice struck a somewhat familiar chord with him. Suddenly, the answer hit him with the force of a speeding train. He couldn't believe that bastard would do something like this. If he hurt Olivia, Elliot would just have to kill him himself.

Elliot couldn't believe that he had missed the signs. Now wasn't the time for doubt. They had to move quickly. The course of this entire dilemma had changed instantly, for he knew exactly who had Olivia…

**TBC...**


	3. Hour 2: The Van

**Hour 2: The Van**

**1:00 a.m.**

**A/N: Wow…so many reviews. You must really like me. It might take me longer to get chapters up now, since I have exams soon. I do love where this is going, cause I know where it's going. You get to know who done it at the end of this chapter. The next chapter will have the why, then the chapter after that will be Elliot's POV. Enjoy! R&R!**

The first thing Olivia felt was the cold. Wherever she was, it had to be freezing. Cautiously, she lifted her head of the cold floor. She saw nothing but darkness. She wasn't blindfolded or anything. It was just very dark. Gingerly she tried to move her arms. They couldn't move at all. She felt a length of rope against them. Her legs were similarly bound.

The ground reverberated beneath her. Wherever she was, it was moving. Judging by the size of the place she was trapped, she was in the back of a truck. The only light came from a hole in the wall. She wiggled towards it. She managed to get there after several horrible moments. Lifting her head, she could see dark sky outside. It was still night, which meant she hadn't been there for long.

The ground lurched beneath her, and the truck stopped moving. She had reached wherever the man who had taken her where he had wanted to go. She gulped suddenly afraid. Olivia had seen first hand what people could do to others. Without being able to stop herself, she imagined all of the horrible things that could happen to her. She shuddered.

Olivia tried to think of a plan. There had to be something that she could do to get herself out of this situation. When ever she was trying to think, everything came up fuzzy. Her head was pounding, and the world seemed to be spinning around her. It had to be something to do with the drug the perp had used on her.

Great, even in a situation like this, she was thinking like a cop. Her life was in danger. Although she hated to think about it, she could really die here. All she was thinking about was how best to leave some evidence. She was thinking about the description of her attack she would give to the cops. She was preoccupied with what she would say to Elliot.

Elliot...her heart gave a painful little twinge just thinking about him. Was he thinking about her? Did he even know that she was missing? For one glorious moment, all of her fear disappeared, and she was consumed with thoughts of him. By the sound of a door opening, she was brought back painfully to reality.

Olivia twisted painfully towards the back of the truck. The night was black, and the man was silhouetted in shadow. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't see his face. The man moved towards her, and she had to move backwards out of the way. There was nothing she could do…she was tied too tightly.

At first Olivia thought the man wanted to move her to another location. That wasn't what he had in mind. Forcefully, without any warning, the man forced himself upon her. He kissed her forcefully on the mouth. She felt physically sick as he forced his tongue into her mouth. Without thinking, she bit down as hard as she could.

The man yelped, and pulled back. Olivia smiled, tasting his metallic blood. Her victory was short lived, for the man moved back towards her. Even in the darkness, he looked furious. Olivia tried to move out of the way. Her efforts were futile, for she was tied so tightly that she couldn't move more than an inch to the left or right. She cringed for the blow that was sure to come…

After a tense moment, Olivia visibly relaxed. She was almost immediately alert again. Whatever this man wanted to do, it wasn't violent. In her job, however, she had seen things that people could do to each other without any obvious physical violence. Instead of hitting her, the guy lifted her up.

She struggled in his grasp, desperately trying to get away. Whatever she tried, she couldn't free herself from his grip. She tried biting him again, but he was too far too reach. There was nothing she could do except hang limply there in his arms. In moments, he had carried her into a dark cold one room shacked that appeared to be in the middle of no where.

The man threw her roughly to the ground. Fear coursed through her now. She had no idea what would happen to her and she could only imagine the worst. "Please", she begged. She had never begged before in her life. She didn't even know what she was begging for. Her life, for him not to rape her…she didn't really know.

Suddenly she worried that she would never see anything except this place again. What would happen if she never got out of here? She wondered what would happen. Would anyone even notice? She was sure that the SVU squad would. She felt wrong for even thinking it, but she knew Elliot would be devastated. She too would be devastated if she never saw Elliot again.

The man was moving towards her slowly. It was as if she was taunting her. The man was playing on her fears. It was like he wanted her to be afraid. There was a solitary light bulb hanging from the dank ceiling. It created a patch of light on the dingy floor. Although Olivia was terrified, she wanted the man to step into that light. If he did, she could see his face.

Eventually, the man reached the edge of the luminescent circle. When he stepped in, Olivia let out an audible gasp. She had seen this man before. Olivia hadn't thought about him in years. When she had known him, he had haunted her memories. She had nearly forgotten him. He had said he was in her head now. She hadn't really taken him seriously then.

Standing in front of her was Richard White…


End file.
